Recently, the researchgroupled by Prof. Xu Qiutao and Prof. Zhang Jisen from theSchoolof Agriculture published a perspective review titled“The emerging epitranscriptomic modificationac⁴Cregulates plant development and stress adaptation”in the internationally renowned journalNature Plants. Yao Jiayu, a PhD candidate from theSchoolof Agriculture, is the first author of the article, and Professors Xu Qiutao and Zhang Jisen serve as co-corresponding authors.GXUis listed as the first affiliation of the publication.

The article provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the study of RNAac⁴Cmodification in plants, highlighting the pivotal role of this emerging epitranscriptomic mark in plant growth regulation, stress responses, and immune defense. Research demonstrates thatac⁴Cis widely present in rice andarabidopsis’mRNA, exhibiting a finely tuned distribution pattern that is both evolutionarily conserved and species-specific. The modification is catalyzed by plant homologs of NAT10 proteins, such as OsNAT10 in rice and ACYR inarabidopsis. By enhancing mRNA stability and translation efficiency,ac⁴Cparticipates in regulating leaf development, flowering under low-temperature conditions, and plant disease resistance.The article also points out several directionsforfuture researches, including identifyingac⁴C“erasers” and “readers,” as well as developing novel crop breeding strategies based onac⁴C-mediated regulation, providing new ideas for improving crop resilience and yield.

It is reported that this work wasfinanciallysupported by the National Key R&D Program, Guangxi Major Special Projects, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Guangxi Distinguished Young Scholars Fund, and the High-level Talent Program of GXU.